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NClaire Apr 12, 2020 @ 5:53pm
Start Steam in Offline mode automatically?
My internet occasionally shuts down and comes back again. If this happens while I'm playing a game, steam freaks out, freezes, and closes games without saving. (Quite frustrating to randomly lose hours of gameplay)

Rather than having to remember to turn off wifi every time I play a game or save games like a paranoid person, is it possible to set up steam to start steam offline automatically unless otherwise prompted?
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Originally posted by crunchyfrog:
No sadly, because of Steam being intended, and indeed NEEDED to use the internet to run properly, automatic offline isn't a thing.

The best thing for you to do, is not have Steam startup when you start your PC. Then you manually need to clikc it each time you want it to start, which means you can load it up, swicth to offline mode, then restart and you should be good to go. You'll soon get in the practice of it.

But just beware, leaving it in offline mode for too long will make games less and less functional because of the need to be online periodically. There are some games which won't function at all , being either online in nature, or having some checking requirement.

That's about the best you can do - get in the habit.
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Showing 1-4 of 4 comments
mimizukari Apr 12, 2020 @ 5:55pm 
Steam is an online storefront/DRM, you need a connection to keep using Steam and to validate your games... Plus many games don't function in offline mode at all, espec those that use Steamworks.
#1
The author of this thread has indicated that this post answers the original topic.
crunchyfrog Apr 12, 2020 @ 6:09pm 
No sadly, because of Steam being intended, and indeed NEEDED to use the internet to run properly, automatic offline isn't a thing.

The best thing for you to do, is not have Steam startup when you start your PC. Then you manually need to clikc it each time you want it to start, which means you can load it up, swicth to offline mode, then restart and you should be good to go. You'll soon get in the practice of it.

But just beware, leaving it in offline mode for too long will make games less and less functional because of the need to be online periodically. There are some games which won't function at all , being either online in nature, or having some checking requirement.

That's about the best you can do - get in the habit.
#2
NClaire Apr 17, 2020 @ 12:34pm 
Thank you. I've started getting into this habit.

Unfortunately I discovered today that the game crashes with any Steam Notifications during game play, including those that occur offline. I've disabled notifications as best as I can, but looks like I'll need to be a lot more careful about saving in the future. In hindsight, it might be better to purchase older games without going through Steam.
#3
crunchyfrog Apr 17, 2020 @ 3:04pm 
Originally posted by Enalton418:
Thank you. I've started getting into this habit.

Unfortunately I discovered today that the game crashes with any Steam Notifications during game play, including those that occur offline. I've disabled notifications as best as I can, but looks like I'll need to be a lot more careful about saving in the future. In hindsight, it might be better to purchase older games without going through Steam.

Hmm, sounds like you have an issue with something in the steam installation corrupting. It seems to be quite common atm, so I wouldn't be surprised if the congestion has caused it.

What you can do is reinstall steam. You don't need to reinstall your games.
#4
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Date Posted: Apr 12, 2020 @ 5:53pm
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